How do you make a water ripple effect in Adobe Illustrator?

A:

Quick Answer

To create a water ripple effect in Adobe Illustrator, draw a circle with the ellipse tool, change the fill option to a gradient fill, switch the gradient type to radial and change the color of the circle to blue. Use the gradient sliders to alternate portions of the circle from blue to white.

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Select the ellipse tool, and draw a circle on the blank page while holding shift to make the circle proportionate. Change the fill to gradient, and select radial as the gradient type on the vertical toolbar.

Slide the colors

Choose the gradient slider tool, and set the entire circle's color to blue. Using the gradient slider, select pinpoints within the circle, and alternate blue and white colors with each click. Continue switching the colors from blue to white and back to blue until the edge of the circle is covered.

Resize the shape and appearance

Select the circle with the default arrow tool, and squash the circle into an oval using the bounding box settings. Draw a rectangular box to cover the background behind the oval shape. Change the gradient fill within the rectangular box to linear, and change the starting point of the box to a light blue shade. Change the radiant direction to top to bottom.

Add ripples

Create an additional circle box with the same specifications as the first circle, and overlap the shape slightly to the left or right of the original circle or oval. Repeat the steps to create more ripples. The circle boxes can be adjusted by dragging the corners of each circle box.